South Africa's loss hands England No 2 ODI spot

South Africa's loss in the fourth ODI to Pakistan on Thursday has assured England of the number two spot on the Reliance ICC ODI Championship Table on the 1 April cut-off date.

With just one match to go in the series, South Africa can only retain its number four spot.

For South Africa this will be a huge disappointment since it started the series with an opportunity to claim the number-one ODI rank if it won all five matches in the series.

But India is now assured of the number-one rank on the ODI table on the 1 April cut-off date. India will also receive a shield and a cheque of US$175,000 for the same.

England, the holder of the Shield, will now finish second on the 1 April cut-off date and also receive a cheque of US$75,000 for the same.

For Pakistan on the other hand, the opportunity is to now reduce the gap further with fifth ranked Sri Lanka.

If Pakistan was to win on Sunday in the fifth and final match against South Africa, it will be level on ratings points with Sri Lanka, but will be ranked behind it when calculations take place beyond decimal point.

At present the top six sides are separated by just 11 ratings points thereby indicating a close nature of contest in store during the ICC Champions Trophy in June 2013.